Broken Sparks
by Kibble Beast
Summary: AU, post-DotM. Decepticons victorious, the Autobots and their human allies are at the mercy of their sadistic captors. But the war isn't quite over.
1. Chapter 1

Tally-ho, this is slightly different.

I'd like to point out right now that this is nothing like anything the wondrous **Clumsy Peg** and I have written before. We have splendidly joined forces once more, so be sure to remember that I am not the only voice telling this tale! It is indeed another joint venture between us that this time _I_ have the pleasure of hosting, but read this very carefully:

**This is not humorous. This is not crack. This is not even eloquent angst. This may get very nasty. **We're Autobot fangirls really, we don't really do... _this_.

There are also character deaths ahead, but I find it difficult to say whether they're major or minor. Surely that depends on your love for the character?

Nor in fact do we know how long this is going to be, so if you like, pop us a review so that we know we've got some support in this sick and twisted world! This is new to both of us, so feedback is greatly appreciated. There might be some serious Optimus trauma if we get to another chapter, which will obviously be very exciting.

I can't think of anything else of note except that we've upgraded Soundwave's size. He looked _huge_ in RotF only to be a complete midget in DotM. In this we've returned him to being massive as this suits our malignant purposes better.

* * *

><p><em>Hope wasn't lost<em>, Ratchet told himself._ Hope was never lost._

Of course, no matter how many times he told himself the same thing it didn't make the situation any better.

The Autobots would be lucky to get out of this alive: too brazenly they had entered Chicago, full of righteousness and no real plan- not that there had been much time to make one, let alone plan tactics even Prowl would have approved of.

They had had to fight immediately (_there had been no other option_), but it certainly hadn't turned out well. Separating themselves across the city had made sense at the time: wider spread, better chance of finding Decepticons- but the enemy had found them, or just _Ratchet,_ at least. He fervently hoped that the others had been luckier.

Unfortunately the sheer numbers of the Decepticons meant Ratchet was as good as dead, though surprisingly they hadn't blasted him into the Matrix yet. The amount of mechs surrounding him meant that there was no chance for escape unless something miraculous happened (_and Ratchet was sure the Autobots' miracle quota had been used up a long time ago)._

'Surrender,' a bulky, trigger-happy looking mech ordered, weapons pointed directly at him.

'Make me,' the medic spat. If he wasn't going to live through this, he wasn't going to go down spinelessly.

The armaments held by the Decepticons were hefted, and Ratchet was suddenly sure that it was the end; he immediately opened fire, hitting at least one majorly and another-

The Decepticons were not blasting him to death, he abruptly realised. Miracles could not be wasted, he reasoned, and resolved to take as many out as he could.

The mechs were shouting furiously amongst themselves in some Decepticon language but still standing there.

Were they stupid? Were their processors damaged from the spacebridge? That would be priceless indeed.

But no, perhaps there was something else at work here. Why would they ask him to surrender and then not fire back-?

They were surely up to something... and if his hunch was correct, he was in for a whole lot of trouble.

Before the medic could continue this thought, a sharp hit to the back of his helm jarred his processors, causing him to black out.

* * *

><p>When he finally came to, he was no longer on the battlefield that had been a proud city until so recently (<em>just as Cybertron died from the War, Earth had begun to die too<em>).

Instead he immediately registered he appeared to be in a building, being held captive between two rather large Decepticons and, if that wasn't enough, staring into the ruined face of none other than Megatron himself.

'What do you want with me?' Ratchet inquired wearily, though he wasn't sure if he really wanted to know the answer.

'Being such a _renowned_ medic,' the Decepticon leader replied, 'You and you alone have the skills to repair my...unfortunate visage.' He wasted no time getting to the point.

'No one can repair that,' Ratchet snapped. 'Ugliness cannot be cured.'

Megatron growled with rage and swiped his long, sharp claws across the medic's face. Deep scratches were left across his optic ridge and nasal plating; to his credit, the Autobot barely flinched.

'Why would I do anything for you? After all the Autobots...all the _friends_ of mine you've killed?' Ratchet demanded angrily, ignoring the blazing pain slicing across his face.

'Because if you don't,' Megatron answered cooly, gesturing for his minions to come forward, 'Your Prime will suffer the consequences.' A sadistically fanged, gleeful grin appeared on the Decepticon's face at the Autobot medic's horror: Optimus, flanked by both Soundwave and Shockwave, was pushed roughly towards them. Starscream and Sentinel Prime also emerged, though the CMO paid them no heed; they were irrelevant to the situation.

'You've done some pretty low things in your life, Megatron, but this tops them all,' Ratchet said venomously.

'Not at all,' the silver mech replied. 'Optimus is to blame for it, so it seems logical that Optimus should suffer as I do if you do not comply.'

The Autobot Commander gave a short growl; it was all he could give, being forcibly restrained by the two Decepticons simultaneously. He was forced to his knees between them before both hands were wrenched behind his back and Shockwave unsubspaced some cuffs; they were clearly taking no chances.

'It is just cosmetic damage,' Ratchet lied hurriedly, visually evaluating the damage as he spoke. 'Prime is to pay for your vanity?'

Megatron's short bark of laughter turned abruptly into a dark growl. 'You know as well as I that this is not simply cosmetic. The next time you lie, perhaps Soundwave or Shockwave shall have a little fun. Do you remember the type of fun they enjoy, Autobot?'

Ratchet needed no prompts to recall the sadistic reputations each mech had earned.

'Do not listen to him,' Optimus insisted abruptly, struggling between the giant mechs. 'Ratchet, do you hear me?'

The CMO could see the desperate conflict surging in his Prime; Optimus would not ask him to sacrifice his own existence for this, but it was the only alternative, and a painful one at that.

'I would care little for my life,' Ratchet said, 'but this situation threatens _yours_.'

'You speak as if I shall survive this and then live a joyful existence,' Optimus replied, 'but we both know that the likelihood of that.'

Ratchet fell silent; his processor provided enough outcomes- each as excruciating as the last- for him to know that the mech was right. Either way he could not save his Prime.

'Come, brother,' Megatron spoke reprovingly, as if he were rebuking a sulking child, 'why so downhearted?'

'Do not mock him,' Sentinel suddenly said warningly.

'I do not want your defence!' Optimus growled, enraged.

The older Prime watched him sadly as the other endeavoured against his captors once more. 'The Decepticons were our only chance of success, Optimus. To work with them is far better than to work against them fruitlessly.' And with that the mech simply left the room, abandoning his student to the non-existent mercy of his enemies.

'As amusing as I find your little situation, I think we can make it even _more_...interesting,' Megatron said. He gestured for more Decepticons to come forward, and Prime suddenly noticed that behind their bulk a slight yellow mech was just visible.

'Bumblebee,' Optimus sighed with heavy acceptance, his resolve melting away as Barricade thrust the aforementioned prisoner before his leader. He couldn't sacrifice the young scout's life as well- the Decepticon Commander truly had them trapped.

The yellow Autobot whirred sadly, optics wide as he glanced from Ratchet to Optimus.

'It is not your fault,' Prime managed to reply gently.

'How **touching**!' Starscream cried with a hysteric giggle, interlacing his talons and rubbing his metallic palms together briefly. 'May I have the yellow one, master?'

'Ah,' Megatron mused, 'I believe Soundwave has already claimed that one. Perhaps you should go capture your own?'

'Have?' Ratchet repeated incredulously, 'what do you mean, _have_?'

He was ignored as Starscream turned to hiss at Soundwave. Despite the threat, the Communications Officer radiated a disturbingly smug air.

'Enough,' their commander said shortly. 'Go and make yourself useful. If you want an Autobot, seek one, Seeker.'

'Are there any left?' With that wry, foreboding question, Starscream swept into a low bow before fluidly leaping up and transforming mid-air into his alternate, then spiralled up into the sky through a large hole in the ceiling.

'Let us return to business,' Megatron declared with awful brightness. 'Where were we, the scout?'

Ever attentive, Shockwave gave his commander a nod as if the larger Cybertronian had actually required an answer.

Megatron turned to look at Bumblebee thoughtfully, but he seemed to be systematically evaluating the mech more as an object than a being.

'Perhaps we can make the scout as delightful to behold as I,' Megatron finally said. 'Do you think he would survive, medic? What is your... _professional_ opinion?'

Ratchet doubted that Bumblebee would indeed survive the same assault that the Decepticon had, despite his admirable stamina and resolve. Such strengths would be nothing in the face of such a brutal attack.

Megatron took a few longing steps closer to the yellow mech.

Bumblebee tried fruitlessly to break free- not because he wanted to run, but because he wanted to at least get a few hits in before dying. Barricade and a taller, unknown mech were managing to hold him fast; his efforts only served to humour Megatron, who laughed at the defiance in his victim's optics.

'You always were a feisty one...'

Ratchet's resolve had completely crumbled. 'I'll do it!' he pleaded. 'I'll do whatever you ask, just don't hurt Bumblebee!'

The Decepticon leader was triumphant. 'See? That wasn't so hard, now was it?' Turning to Shockwave, he added, 'Execute him.'

'With pleasure.' The officer immediately left Optimus' side and slowly approached the yellow scout, optic boring into him as he examined the small mech from varying angles.

'No, Megatron!' Prime cried desperately, once again struggling violently against Soundwave alone, who was having visibly more difficulty holding the Autobot by himself. 'Brother, stop! We'll do what you want, isn't that enough?'

The large silver mech regarded him coldly. 'What do you think?'

'Bumblebee!' Ratchet called out, horrified. He too tried to break free from his captors. This couldn't be happening. 'Megatron, stop this! You will have my compliance!'

'Compliance is simply not enough, medic,' Megatron spat. 'You need to learn that I do not like dealing with your pathetic heroics. If you had simply done what I had asked in the beginning, this could have been avoided.'

'Don't let him blame you, Ratchet,' Optimus interjected urgently, attempting to reassure his dismayed medic. 'He is twisted enough to have done it regardless-'

Bumblebee gave a mechanical whirr, nodding in agreement. The scout's bravery was too much for Ratchet to handle, and he looked away.

Unfortunately- but unsurprisingly- Megatron wouldn't allow such an action.

'Make him watch. **Both** of them,' he added as an afterthought, but Optimus had already locked optics with Bumblebee, perhaps trying to convey all the emotion and message he could through visual contact alone.

The two mechs restraining Ratchet forced his helm to look forward as Shockwave thought carefully about how to make the small Cybertronian's death as painful as possible. He was standing but a foot away from Bumblebee and just about to pull some murderous tool from subspace when Soundwave suddenly and unexpectedly spoke in a fast Decepticon dialect the Autobots could not understand, glancing at his commander and then gesturing at Bumblebee.

Megatron frowned heavily before returning low, dark sounding words at which the Communications Officer inclined his helm respectfully.

There was a brief pause before Megatron then spoke in the foreign tongue to Shockwave, who reluctantly retreated a few steps whilst his commander strode forwards and grasped Bumblebee by the face, clawtips cruelly digging into the more delicate plating.

The yellow mech attempted to pull away with a rare growl.

With astounding and terrifying speed, Megatron had him by the throat and was slowly pulling at something with his other clawed hand: the Autobot's vocal processor.

Bumblebee squirmed with a broken scream, his already damaged capacitors unable to withstand the mistreatment. The processor was ripped out of his throat once more, and abruptly all sound stopped. All the scout could do was mutely choke, his optics shut in anguish and his mouth open as he silently gagged and writhed in agony.

'Ah,' Megatron said almost regretfully, releasing his neck and watching the Autobot crumple to the ground, 'that was over too quickly. I suppose it hadn't recovered fully from the last encounter we had.'

Prime interrupted his musings with a furious snarl. 'You will pay for that,' he warned, half-risen to his pedes whilst both his guards had been distracted. Unfortunately for the Autobot, Shockwave was fast to knock him to the ground again.

'Of course I will,' Megatron said. 'Are _you_ going to make me, Optimus? Do you think I fear you?'

'You should,' the flamed commander replied tightly. 'Because if I ever get the chance, I swear that you will regret this.'

Megatron turned back to Bumblebee, apparently unimpressed by the threats. 'I prefer you much more when you cannot make a noise,' the Decepticon informed the scout, sprinkling the shattered pieces of the processor onto the ground. 'Yours as promised, Soundwave. I suppose a mute does not matter to you; you have your means.'

The Intelligence Officer nodded, content. He would have his fun later.

A roaring jet engine announced Starcream's return. The Decepticon smoothly transformed to his bipedal form before easily angling through the ceiling-hole and landing lightly on his pedes.

'Master,' Starscream cried with disturbing jubilation, his back to the Autobots, 'see what your most loyal servant brings you!'

Megatron ventilated heavily. 'Spare me your theatrics.'

The smaller Decepticon's chassis clicked as his cockpit hissed open, and two small bodies tumbled out with a harsh smack into his hand, followed by a cry of pain.

'No,' Optimus whispered, already guessing where this led.

Megatron's helm cocked to the side; he barely spared his second a glance. 'Insects, Starscream? What might I want with them? Repulsive-'

'But these are very special insects,' the Seeker insisted, approaching his leader with his captives petrified on his palm.

'Oh god,' one of the humans choked, his speech quavering as he caught sight of the silver behemoth.

'Stay behind me,' a brave but frightened voice announced, shuffling slightly in front of the other figure, and Ratchet's worst fears about their identities were confirmed.

Losing all restraint, Bumblebee began to struggle violently against Barricade as Optimus tried once more to plea with his counterpart.

'Megatron, please-'

Starscream hastily continued, urgent to convince his superior of the captives' worth. 'My liege, this is the joint commander of the Autobot-human alliance and-'

'The _boy_,' Megatron suddenly interjected, optics narrowing even as they brightened, locking onto the young man Lennox was attempting to hide.

'Bumblebee!' Sam cried, eyes darting about and spotting his best friend. 'Bee are you alright?'

The Autobot tried to communicate with him, but without his vocal processors and his arms held in the vice-like grip of the Decepticons guarding him, he could not.

'Bee?' Sam asked, eyes threatening to spill over with tears. 'What's wrong with Bumblebee? Why...why isn't he saying anything? Or making some sort of- of mechanical noise, or anything?'

He looked around at the other Autobots, who avoided his gaze. Realization dawned on his face as he figured out what had happened. Then Sam himself couldn't even manage a sound due to the intense fury building inside him, angry tears falling down his cheeks. The boy then fell to his knees in despair, finally managing to choke out a single sob.

'Don't lose hope, Sam,' Lennox said quietly, kneeling in front of the younger male, hands firmly on the other's shoulders and trying to make eye contact. 'Ironhide is still out there, with the others. You know he'll find a way in.'

Shockwave laughed - a terrifying, sickening sound, unsettling the two humans. 'Oh, he'll find a way in, all right.' The glee in his voice was unbearable. 'But not the way you're expecting.'

Gesturing for another Decepticon to take his place at guarding Optimus, Shockwave left through a side door without comment.

The Decepticons' captives waited tensely, nervously, for Shockwave to return...hoping that they were wrong in their fears that Ironhide had been captured as well.

When they finally heard Shockwave return, there was no shouting, no sounds of a struggle, no name calling...it was ominously quiet.

Deadly quiet.

The only sound that pierced the air was the sound of a heavy, metallic object being dragged across the floor.

Shockwave finally re-entered the room, dragging an immobile black mech behind him. Sentinel Prime followed solemnly after, sad optics fixed on the body as the Decepticon then unceremoniously tossed the downed Autobot into the center of the petrified captives.

'No...Ironhide, no! ' Lennox cried, voice threatening to crack. He sank down to all fours. 'Get up, please, please get up,' the soldier desperately continued, whispering.

The Autobots mirrored the human's disbelief, and a strangled whimper came from Sam.

'Where's your hope, now?' Shockwave cackled. It had been too long since he had this much fun.

'Ironhide,' Optimus croaked. There had to be a mistake. No one could take him head on and come out successful-

Almost as if he had read the Prime's mind, Shockwave elaborated. 'He was so occupied with my pet Driller, he didn't notice my approach from behind...and what Decepticon would pass up the chance to take down the Autobots' fiercest warrior?'

'You coward!' Ratchet shouted angrily. 'Taking him out with his back turned!'

'Perhaps I should have politely asked if he'd wanted to battle instead,' Shockwave retorted. 'Do not pretend that you Autobots are so noble that you would not have taken the opportunity should the roles have been reversed. It is logical to attack if the opponent is foolish enough not to guard themselves properly.'

'Humans make such irritating noises,' Megatron mused, frowning upon the natives' dismay and grief. 'I should terminate them now for the sake of my audio receptors.'

'We will do anything,' Optimus pleaded, 'just let them go-'

'I desire nothing less than your complete submission,' Megatron said.

'Don't you do it,' Sam cried, his voice breaking and betraying his fear despite his brave words. 'Not for me, Optimus!'

'Not for _us_,' Lennox added immediately; respecting the other's resolve, he made no false promise that they would survive, but instead gripped Sam's shoulder in silent camaraderie.

Prime hung his helm in mute defeat. He could see no other option. It is a simple choice, isn't it; his pride or the chance that his allies might live? The Autobots have been defeated here, and at this moment there was nothing they could do but try to survive.

'There is no guarantee that the Decepticon will keep his word,' Ratchet said, only to be harshly kicked by Shockwave, who was clearly displeased at the slight on his leader. 'You know what he did to...to Bumblebee-' the medic persisted, earning another- stronger- kick to his abdomen.

'But there is nothing else that can be done,' his Prime replied softly.

Sentinel shook his helm in- disappointment? Shame? 'To think that you, my _brightest_, would be ruled by such a lowly species, Optimus.'

'I am not ruled by them,' the flamed Autobot said lowly. 'These are my allies and friends, not that you would appreciate such things.'

'What a pity...they will pay a high price for associating with you, Optimus. Especially, _especially_ the boy who has defied me for so long,' Megatron stated, turning to leer at the humans.

'For what he has done I will show him the meaning of pain,' Shockwave promised with worrying eagerness.

'No,' Megatron said with absolute certainty. 'The boy is mine.' And he reached out and wrapped a claw around Sam's middle and slowly tightened it, squeezing him with unearthly pressure. The young man cried out with pure, raw anguish emanating from the howl.

Frantically, Lennox ineffectually grasped and pulled at the digit, unable to be so close and do nothing despite knowing there was no action he could take that would save the other.

Bumblebee's optics grew wide as he began violently twisting and clawing at his captors, silently screaming out for Sam. Prime howled with unbridled rage, and it took incessant blows from both Soundwave and Shockwave- the latter had returned to the flamed Autobot with premeditated intent- to begin to subdue him.

'You will break and kill him!' Ratchet tried desperately, frantic to earn the human even a slight reprieve. 'Is that what you want?'

'You cannot begin to fathom what I want,' Megatron replied, but the pressure stopped increasing.

Sam's upper half bent over the claw as he let out a choked sob, wheezing heavily.

Bumblebee managed to stretch out a trembling hand in his ward's direction before Barricade wrenched it back behind his helm.

Thoughtfully, Megatron eyed Sam for a moment before lifting him into the air, the young man still limply curled over his claw.

'No!' Lennox cried, jumping to his feet and reaching out for him.

Starscream twitched his hand slightly, and the remaining human tumbled into his palm on his back with a startled grunt.

Sam coughed and gradually, shakily raised his head to find Megatron staring at him.

'We certainly shall get well acquainted,' the Decepticon promised forebodingly. 'Do you remember our first conversation?'

'Con- conversation?' Sam repeated bravely. 'I wouldn't call it a conversation-'

'We exchanged words, such is the definition. Apparently you _do_ remember,' Megatron said delightedly. 'Let us make my proposition to you a reality.'

'No!' Sam cried, horrorstruck. 'Never-'

The commander frowned incredulously. 'Did I mention you having a choice, creature?'

'Here, my liege-' Starscream reached into subspace and threw him a small metallic cuboid. 'You do not have to behold his gormless flesh incessantly.'

'Aren't you simply _full_ of brilliant ideas today?' Without ceremony, Megatron caught the container, flicked open a lid on the top and then dropped a startled Sam into it. 'Well done, Starscream.'

'What of the other insect, master?' the Seeker inquired, still holding Colonel Lennox captive.

Megatron studied the human with contempt, and then his Air Commander, clearly eager for something of his own... 'You may do what you wish with it.'

Starscream's wings blatantly flickered in barely repressed anticipation as he cast a darkly gleeful glance at the soldier in his hand.

Lennox swallowed hard but remained determinedly tight-lipped.

'The humans are of no use to you,' Prime pleaded once more. 'Let them go. If it is Cybertron you want then the _Autobots_ will help you restore it-'

Megatron laughed incredulously. 'Hear that, Autobots? Your leader willingly trades you into slavery in place of flesh!' And he strode over to the other commander and knelt down so they were more level with one another before resting one hand's clawtips on his counterpart's face with deceptive tenderness. 'Optimus, you have no power here,' he said, ever so quietly. 'And you cannot save anyone.'

And as he scored his claws deeply and slowly across the Autobot's face, Prime flinched and hated himself for it, though it was impossible to tell whether it was in response to the words or the physical pain.

'You had better start acquitting yourself appropriately and earn as little agony as you can.'

As Megatron rose to attend to other business, he caught the optic of Shockwave, who was looking at his commander expectantly.

'Very well,' the larger mech conceded with somewhat of a heavy sigh. 'But I expect Optimus to be _alive_ by the end of the day, Shockwave.'

Prime's optics narrowed slightly as his facemask slid into place: threats to himself he knew how to handle. 'You will have no satisfaction from me.'

'How many have said that before you?' Shockwave asked rhetorically. 'And how many screamed and begged by the end-'

'**Alive**,' Megatron reinforced darkly. 'And not a jibbering wreck.'

'You are overconfident in your vermin's abilities,' Prime said.

'As are _you_,' Shockwave nearly whispered.

And just for the briefest moment of a moment, Ratchet espied complete and utter despair in Optimus' optics and knew that his words and performance were no kin with the way his commander truly felt.

'Oh, what fun we will have together, Optimus,' Shockwave beamed. He had been looking forward to this.

Megatron watched his valiantly struggling brother be dragged away with mild interest before returning to matters that required his full attention. That medic still needed to be broken.

He nodded to the mechs keeping an aghast Ratchet captive.

'Bring him,' Megatron ordered, leaving the room.

The next thing Ratchet knew, he was being forcefully pulled through a corridor before being shoved through a door, the Decepticon Commander himself following him through.

If it were possible, the medic's Spark would have sunk even lower.

Restrained against the wall, battered yet still defiant, were five of the other six remaining Autobots on Earth...Sideswipe, Mirage, and the three Wreckers. 'Maybe Wheeljack escaped,' Ratchet thought hopefully. The mech was indeed a genius, it could happen-

'Oi, you!' Roadbuster shouted at Megatron. 'Where's the bastard that killed Wheeljack? The 'bot had surrendered and was completely defenseless! What kind of monster does that?'

Ratchet's hopes had been shattered. ''Jack...They got you, too?' he asked the absent inventor quietly, optics downcast. This was entirely too much for him to handle.

'Oi! I'm talkin' to you, Ugly!' the stock car continued, clearly irate.

'Shut up, you're going to get us all killed!' Sideswipe hissed, shooting the mech next to him a venemous look.

Roadbuster was about to argue back, but thought better of it before settling into a furious silence.

Megatron, miraculously ignoring Roadbuster's polite request for information, simply smirked to himself before making his proposition.

'I'll make a deal with you, medic,' he said, pointing to Sideswipe. The other one may have been more insulting, but this one clearly had more intelligence. Something he was determined to take care of. 'Join the Decepticons or he will face the consequences.'

Ratchet couldn't even manage the words to express his incredulous horror.

'Defect,' Megatron ordered coldly, 'Renounce all ties you have to the Autobot code and swear loyalty to me. Or he will die. And I hope you remember from the experience with the scout how much patience I have.'

'Scout- _Bumblebee_?' Sideswipe asked, optics wide.

'What did you do to him?' Mirage demanded fiercely.

Megatron ignored them both. 'How much time do you think you have, medic?'

Still rendered speechless, Ratchet kept looking between Sideswipe and Megatron. He knew better than to think even for a second that the Decepticon was bluffing.

'Don't do it, Ratch,' Sideswipe pleaded, fear breaking through his confident demeanor. 'We're all going to die anyway. Don't do what he wants! You _are_ an Autobot, you can't give that up!'

It was probably the truth; soon all of them would probably be killed. But even so...if he had a chance to at least delay his comrades' deaths - clinging to the minuscule hope that maybe someone would survive all this - Ratchet would do it.

Even if it meant joining the very mechs he hated. (_Any of them would, if they were in the same position_.)

He avoided the optics of his fellow Autobots before replying. 'I-' Ratchet began, his voice catching. It was almost impossible for him to say. 'I renounce my ties to the Autobots...'

'And?' Megatron prompted impatiently.

'And...I-' the medic closed his optics, ventilating deeply, before forcing himself to continue. 'I swear loyalty to you...Lord Megatron.'

'Wonderful,' the commander said with a sickeningly false smile that promised imminent darkness. 'However, you'll forgive me if I do not take your word alone as proof; we Decepticons can be a little shifty like that.'

Ratchet's optics narrowed as a strong foreboding feeling washed over him. He should have known it wasn't going to be that easy.

'To prove your loyalty to me,' Megatron started, 'You are to kill one of the Autobots before you.'

'_What-_'

'Right now.'

'You can't be serious-'

'Are you a Decepticon or not?' the commander asked, unable to keep the sadistic grin from his face. 'Although, if you are not up to the task...I suppose I will just have to terminate all of them.'

'You can't,' Ratchet whispered.

'My word is law.'

Mirage looked from the Autobot medic's stricken face -he knew Ratchet would never be a true Decepticon- to the fearful optics of his fellow captives, and made his decision.

'Ratchet,' he said, catching the other's attention. He didn't have to elaborate for the newly defected mech to know exactly what he was going to say.

Ratchet couldn't see any other way out of this. '...Are you sure?' was all he could manage.

The red mech nodded his assurance. Sideswipe and the Wreckers could only watch in horror as their comrade sacrificed himself for them.

Grimacing, Ratchet prepared his cannon to fire, arm shaking as he aimed it at his friend.

'Mirage...I'm so sorry,' Ratchet croaked out, barely audible, before pulling the trigger.

He did not need to look at the body to know it had been a clean shot and that death had been instant. The former Autobot was instantly sickened with himself; the knowledge that he had ended Mirage's life quickly and painlessly did nothing to lessen the burden that he was now a murderer and traitor.

'Welcome to the Decepticons, Ratchet,' Megatron cackled, using the mech's name for the first time since the war had started. He slapped the medic's shoulder jubilantly. 'Barricade!' he called. 'Take our new recruit to replace those hideous faction symbols with something more... _appealing_.'

(_And if there was hope, Ratchet could not see it.)_


	2. Chapter 2

Unfortunately Clumsy Peg is no longer with us- whilst I hastily add she is very much alive, more accurately she is no longer writing with me. I hope this affects the quality and your enjoyment of the fic in no way!

We do however both heartily thank you reviewing anons, your feedback is immensely appreciated- despite our despair that we can't message you back.

And to _Lone Wolf_: There were no plans for Carly to be involved, but now you mention her I see no reason that she should be safe! Likely she will pop up soon enough once our main Autobots and humans are established.

Unusually for me, I do not promise a happy ending. What I do promise is that with your blessings, I will continue to write this until one is reached. Ratings may go up in later chapters, and naturally I don't own Transformers in any way.

* * *

><p>The strong metallic coils wrapped themselves around each of his limbs and torso, securing him strongly to the table; Optimus let out a low rumble of distaste and pulled at his bonds as Shockwave approached, but there was no leverage.<p>

'If you were any kind of mech you would loose these and fight me,' Prime snapped, continuing to fruitlessly strain. 'This is cowardly.'

The other Cybertronian was watching with unsettling interest; so focused was he that the commander wasn't even sure if he'd heard. The silence extended; Optimus was about to resign himself to whatever awaited him when the Decepticon finally spoke. 'You squandered the opportunity to defeat me. You were not skilled enough.'

'If you were confident in my lack of aptitude then you would not hesitate to release and prove it to me,' Optimus said. 'Logical, is it not?'

'It is illogical to release a captive,' the mech said. 'Even one as radical and laughable as you.'

'It is _illogical_ that I would yield to you.'

Amused, Shockwave let out a brief outward ventilation. 'The opposite, I assure you. Now, enough chatter. I have a hypothesis,' he informed, hand coming to rest on Optimus' shoulder. 'Would you like to hear it?'

Prime refused to reply and tried to ignore his revulsion at the contact.

'Of course you would,' the silver mech continued. 'After all, you _are _the experiment. Firstly, I believe that you have never been tortured before. You see, we could never reach you behind all those mechs you hid behind- yet now I _finally_ have you.'

Optimus felt a cold shiver dive and shudder through his systems, though he managed to keep any expression from forming bar distaste.

'Do not worry,' Shockwave said with sickening jubilance, and dropped his voice to a mere whisper _right_ into the other's audio receptor. 'I do not intend to torture you. I will _train _you.'

'_Train_?' Prime repeated despite his earlier conviction to remain silent. '**_Train_**? Who **do** you think you are, you vile-'  
>'Do you not see your master before you?'<p>

'I recognise no such thing,' the flamed mech snarled. 'I am an _Autobot_.'

'And as such you will acknowledge your Decepticon superiors. Your first lesson, Optimus, heed it well: Lord Megatron may relish conversing with you, but I do not.'

'The feeling is mutual.'

'Defiance is pointless,' the silver mech informed. 'You will be broken, it is but a matter of time. And we have all the time left in eternity.'

Optimus snorted scornfully. 'We shall see.'

'We absolutely shall,' Shockwave continued. 'Well, _I_ shall. I doubt you will be able to see anything substantial before long. In fact, I am quite looking forward to you.'

'But- you aren't _capable_ of emotion,' he accused near disbelievingly, unable to comprehend the palpable excitement radiating from the Decepticon.

'Incorrect. Above most irrelevant feelings, certainly, but I have anticipated this for a long time.' Shockwave paused for a moment, perhaps realising he was on a tangent and correcting himself immediately. 'Now, I would ask whether you will yield directly and save yourself from your impending anguish, but I suppose you will valiantly decline.'

'Submit to _what_?' Optimus demanded, not because he was contemplating submission but more that he didn't even _know_ what the Decepticons truly wanted of him.

'To Decepticon rule,' Shockwave claimed grandly. 'To acknowledge Megatron as your lord-'

His low rumbling growl cut the other mech off. 'Never.'

'Perhaps you cannot see that you are already his servant,' Shockwave said. 'All that is required of you is to succumb.'

'Then I may dissatisfy you,' Prime replied with strong resolution. 'Beings should not be segregated into either servants or masters, and regardless, nor do all servants truly serve! Can you say that you follow Megatron without question?'

'I say I will do his bidding,' the Decepticon answered, 'Which is to break you down. Enough of that. We'll start off as we mean to go on, shall we-? Or would you prefer a warm-up? Your choice, Optimus. I await it... _eagerly_.'

One could not reason with that impassive face; the defiant Autobot stared back silently, unwilling to engage with the enemy in any desired way. Then sudden movement under his trapped body: the table itself was reacting to some sort of unspoken command, and something vibrated in the middle of his back. He could not move anyway, but mentally froze as he realised it was directly -forebodingly- beneath his Spark.

Shockwave was speaking once more. 'Anxiety is unnecessary. Whilst the process does not hurt it will be lengthy, but I promise you I will be here every moment. Move your armour.'

Optimus snarled at him and tried to arch himself away from the surface to no avail; something sharp and circular gnawed at his armour, a hideous sensation. It was a fleeting graze though, a warning.

'If you do not obey it will saw into you.'

_It will saw into him anyway_. The only difference was that his armour would prevent protoform damage for slightly longer. The thought of a neat hole through his back which exposed his Spark was vile, _dangerous_, but he could not comply.

The blades span but remained otherwise still: why the delay? Did Shockwave think he could be broken through apprehension alone?

The worst part of this was his helpless inability to _move,_ and as the tension rose second by second, Optimus became increasingly aware of it_. Shockwave was still watching._ What was **wrong** with him? And what was the purpose of this?

Agony: Prime let out a brief roar of shock as the saw manoeuvred suddenly: he'd braced himself as much as he could for pain, but he'd not expected it to dive past- _under-_ his armour straight into his softer plating.

Immediately something cold worms its way through his back, _through the hole being created that very moment_, and a circular rim attaches itself to him. No, not just one; more slide into his body and latch onto various systems, invading his body with terrible disregard.

And then the draining begins. He can feel his life being sucked greedily out of him, being sapped away, _stolen_.

Surprisingly Shockwave had not lied: the draining did not hurt. It felt nauseating, uncomfortable and wrong- repulsed him incessantly- but it did not _hurt_. What hurt was the unquenchable saw carving into his body, hacking into and lacerating through the layers of delicate and stronger metal alike and _continuing_ to do so needlessly despite having already created a path.

And it is only then, in all of Optimus' years of life, that he realises that there is more than one type of physical pain. Injuries sustained in battle are one thing; pain in a battle does not feel as though it lasts forever. The perpetrator can be ended, the wound can be healed (_Ratchet fixes everything, you see, mends the physical, soothes the mental). _Pain from torture does not_ end_ because its sole purpose is to break you, _humiliate_ you, and if you are strong enough to defy, it does not truly matter as your battered _ruined_ dignity cannot prevent you becoming mere shattered remnants of yourself.

(_You cannot be a hero in the face of pain._) Optimus doesn't think he can anyway, but he tells himself _one more minute_, he can endure _just one more minute_, though he knows he has to be stronger than that. His friends and allies cannot have died and suffered all these long years just for him to succumb because he is weak.

They have not died in vain, he tells himself, and to yield now is to devalue all they have done. If he sets himself just one more minute at a time, he can almost pretend to himself that there will be an end-

'Suffer in despair and suffer alone,' Shockwave said, cold voice blurrily cutting through the anguish, 'For none will save you.'

As Optimus' immobile body involuntarily tries to writhe and fails–an attempt to escape, an attempt to do _anything_ to negate the pain- there is a blinding moment of agony before a second of clarity, and he remembers that he does not suffer alone because he is not the only Autobot in their cruel clutches. And oh_, _how he has failed his human friends, because they are prepared for this even less than he. Are they already dead? _Megatron has Sam_, _dear gods_-

With sinking Spark he abruptly grasps that it is not just those humans close to him who will undergo torment but their whole _species._ Persecution, torment, death- they are all doomed to live and die as Decepticons decree.

Prime lets out a low cry of despair as he torments himself far more than Shockwave is currently capable of.

_What has he done_?

* * *

><p>Lennox had naturally never <em>liked<em> a Decepticon, but Starscream certainly wasn't one he'd ever looked forward to facing on the battlefield. He personally had never come literally face to face with the alien like the ever-unfortunate Sam had, but as he was about to, it seemed prudent that he wise up, and fast.

Starscream had just dropped him rather carelessly onto something hard; the human had landed soundly and ungainly on his back. Gritting his teeth against the flash of pain, Lennox hastily rolled onto his side before rising to his full height. Not that he felt very tall, but it was far better than cowering before the Decepticon. That he wouldn't do. Starscream stood a short distance away, watching him closely but for now at least, remaining still.

The blank Lennox was drawing on the alien was troubling: he couldn't remember any of his soldiers in debrief commenting on an encounter. They'd surely know who he was, what he looked like; the Autobots had given their human allies detailed intelligence on any Decepticons sighted on Earth. Possibilities started to present themselves:

One: His soldiers had been too preoccupied with trying to stay alive and shooting to recognise anyone.

Two: Starscream only fought Autobots and didn't waste his time with humans.

Three: No one had survived an encounter with Starscream.

None of these were promising.

The Autobots had feared the Air Commander, the human knew that much- or if not _feared_ then certainly respected something about him.

The soldier hastily summoned all he knew about the mech. It was quite likely all the information in the world wouldn't save him, but if there was a possibility he could use _anything_ he might as well try, or at the very least be able to anticipate what he was now dealing with.

F-22. Fast then, he had to be. Huge too (_though that much was obvious and unhelpful. Stupid. Think, Will, think.) _High-ranking: had to be smart and powerful. Personality came next as he remembered Starscream-related activity. Slippery- if he was thinking rightly, that's what Starscream was- with far too much firepower; even if you somehow managed to corner him he'd find a way out. Devious was another word for him, liked convoluted schemes. When he'd been in charge of the Decepticons their actions had, in a sense, been subtler, harder to predict. A proper Decepticon, then, not a mindless grunt.

Great, so he had no clue what was coming, and despite currently being out of the alien's grasp, it wasn't even like he could escape: the smooth surface he stood on was large but steep drops surrounded each edge.

'So, _insect_,' Starscream suddenly said, and Lennox's attention snapped back to him. 'What might your name be? I am sure you have one, most of you do.'

The human narrowed his eyes and kept his mouth shut. Starscream could go to hell-

'Ah, wait! _William_ _Lennox_, isn't it! _Colonel_, too. My, what a brave toy soldier you must be.'

Lennox did not like the way Starscream said his name at all. It was downright disturbing: the first syllable of his name and the last of his surname were hissed and overly extended.

'How rude of me, have I not introduced myself?'

(_Oh god, did he ever stop talking_?)

'Surely you have heard of _me_,' Starscream continued. 'After all, I am one of the _most_ formidable w-'

'Sorry,' Lennox said as dismissively as he could, 'No idea. Only know about Decepticons the Autobots deemed important for us to know about.'

There is a moment of dangerous silence. 'You play a very treacherous game, Colonel. Are you quite certain you wish to proceed?'

'Do I have a choice?'

Starscream's jaws snapped together, though there was no telling his sentiment. There was actually something animalistic about him, Lennox thought abstractedly. Something-

'It is very _interesting_,' the alien said unexpectedly, 'That you ran to help the boy. What instinct was that beside suicidal?'

'Humans care for each other,' Lennox replied bluntly. 'Wouldn't expect you to understand.'

'I don't understand stupidity,' the Decepticon responded airily before a breathy cackle slithered out of him. 'Do you understand humour, insect? I found it unbearably funny that the boy thought he could attack _me_ and succeed!'

Starscream's face wasn't overly human like some of the Autobots' were, but Lennox could still see him sporting a delirious grin. It sickened him. Sam had been foolish and rash- there was no denying it- but god knew the young man didn't deserve whatever Megatron was going to serve him.

Movement: whilst he'd been distracted by concern for Sam, Starscream had adjusted himself slightly, edged closer to the surface Lennox was on and then oddly reached towards _it_, not him. The human watched warily, worriedly, but the huge hand stopped quite a distance away. A pause. Then Starscream's deadly talons tip-tapped on the surface with a sharp clicking sound, rippling them slowly as though fingering the invisible keys of a huge musical instrument whilst they began to inch closer to him, each short clack somehow more menacing than the last.

'Can you feel your little heart increase its pace?' the Decepticon asked. 'Can you feel the terror driving it?'

He wouldn't listen. He wouldn't listen! Because words couldn't hurt, he knew that much (_but they could certainly increase fear)._

'You cannot stop _hearing_ any more than you can stop me speaking,' Starscream hissed.

_How did he know?_ Lennox firmly kept his mouth shut. _Give him nothing. Give him-_

'Because I can _hear_ your panic,' Starscream informed. 'I hear each beat of your tell-tale heart as it races away- _crooning_ to me, betraying that stern little boy soldier facade you have constructed. For that is all you are, human, another mere _boy, _a speck of worthless existence.'

_Expendable_, that's what he was. It wouldn't matter too much if he died, the world didn't depend on him. There would be another soldier to take his place, maybe- but his heart quavered at the thought- another love for Sarah, a new daddy for Annabelle; in the grander scheme he was nothing. He could die here and nobody would know. (_But life would_ _go on.) _If he was going to die (and he would, there was no way out of this: no cavalry, no _Ironhide- _the soldier blinks harshly at this; he cannot cry now), he firmly reminded himself there was nothing he would tell the Decepticon. Nothing would be gained, no matter-

'I hope you do not think that you could keep any secrets from me,' Starscream's light hissing continued as he cocked his helm slightly. 'That is _if_ I want any information from you. Do you think that there is anything ulterior to your impending pain than my own satisfaction? Perhaps, if it will make you feel better, I can think of some questions that you may bravely and stupidly defy.'

Lennox spat at him; though it failed to make contact, it still felt better than doing nothing.

'I will break your pretence brick by clumsy brick,' the Air Commander said calmly, 'for your resolve is _nothing_, mortal. And unless I find another purpose for you, then you will die. You will experience torment at my mighty hand and you shall suffer until your fast-approaching end.'

'Did I have to get stuck with the egotist?' Lennox demanded despite his fear (really, who described their own hand as _mighty_?).

'Oh I do admire your resolve,' the Air Commander added suddenly. 'Such bravery is futile; why _do_ you persist?'

'I'm gonna die,' Lennox replied. 'I'm not gonna betray my friends as I go.'

Starscream let out a brief shriek of laughter. '**Friends**! Naive, aren't you- _friends_ cannot be made out of insects! The Autobots tolerate you because of both their incapability to obliterate worthless life and their need for a planet. They have been at the game of deception as long as the Decepticons, child, and they are as accomplished as we. As if your simple minds could comprehend us!'

'We don't need to do that,' the human said, 'We don't need to psychologically profile you to know you're deranged. We just have to kill you.'

'Not that you ever truly _battled_ us,' the Air Commander hissed derisively, every comment seeming to infuriate him further. 'You scurried about and irritated us into distraction. A cowardly tactic by the Autobots.'

'You'd know about cowardly tactics,' Lennox responded. 'Wouldn't you, _Decepticon_? That's what you do best.'

'Do not play so sanctimoniously with me,' Starscream snapped. 'In war if there is an opening you take it. Man has done this before and man will do it again, just as both Autobots and Decepticons have done it before him. Well, I don't suppose man will be doing much bar serving Cybertronians, actually.'

'Is that what you expect me to do?' the human demanded with a frown. 'Fantasise all you like, but it'll still be a fantasy.'

'Oh no,' Starscream said, 'You will simply die once I have tired of you. I would prefer you not to die before my decree, though, so it shall be fascinating to see how much we can achieve before I put you down.'

'You can't stop me bleeding out,' Lennox snapped.

'Can you command yourself to bleed?' Starscream asked amusedly. 'If necessary I shall be sure to cauterise you. Do not be so stupid, fleshling. Surely an insect of your nature has been caught by your own kind before?'

(Lennox had been captured once by his fellow man- he'd been rescued too, though, and so even in the darkest places there was hope- Previously it was not something he had ever wanted to repeat again, but under the burning red lights of an immensely powerful and vindictive entity he absurdly found himself re-evaluating this now. His current situation abruptly made him long for that simpler world where vehicles were _vehicles_ and aliens were myths and if you shot someone they died; made him even wish he were back in the Middle East with all its chaos and death and roadside bombs- or anywhere, really, because he was in deeper water than he'd ever swum in. Man should have never tested these currents; they were too strong, too unpredictable, too _violent_ and they were going to drag every last one of them under.)

Starscream was speaking again, and Lennox shot back into reality.

'Indeed, I would even comment that some of your personalities almost seem complex enough that they could be Cybertronian.'

'You mean _Decepticon_,' the man spat; if he was complimenting human character it wasn't going to be those of good people.

'This again?' Starscream demanded hotly. 'What do you think Autobots did with prisoners? Had a pleasant conversation, set them free? You have seen but one side to them, the side they have let you see. Our race is infinitely more than you can comprehend, flesh. Think you the Autobots trust you so that they kept no secrets, told you no lies?'

'I know them,' Lennox said determinedly, refusing to contemplate the poisonous words, 'And nothing you say will change that.'

The Decepticon remained utterly unconvinced. 'Tell me then something about one of the Autobots you claim you _know_.'

'I'm not playing your games!'

'But you _are_,' Starscream enunciated with a hiss. 'You are very much a game which I happen to be in control of. Ah,' he said suddenly, as though struck by something. 'I have been very wrongly unfair- you do not know the rules.'

'Let me guess,' Lennox said. 'There _are_ none.'

The Decepticon was delighted, if his widening optics and –for the first time- somehow hiss of amusement were anything to go by. 'Some games are dire, _Colonel, _I am sure you agree. The only query I have yet to settle is how long it will take before I am bored of you- or if, in fact, you will be interesting enough to keep?'

'I hope I bore you into suicide.'

'And -unless you were left to starve- then you would passed down through the ranks,' Starscream said dismissively, 'Down down _down_ and they would kill you so quickly it would be nigh pointless. I do not plan on making your life _easy_, insect, so do not expect my death to come presently.'

'I'm honoured,' Lennox sneered.

'You are indeed, little worm,' the Air Commander replied, and the human realised with a heavy drop of his stomach his scorn had gone utterly unrecognised. 'But your forced bravado cannot last here. Now, the Autobots.'

'Do what you want to me, I'm telling you nothing about them.'

Starscream made a hideous sound; Lennox thought it sounded quite like a metallic choke. 'Think you that you are more knowledgeable about the Autobots than _I_? Do you even _know _how long we have battled for, how long we existed before our war? What arrogance! There is nothing you could tell me about them- in fact, were you even **interested**,' the Decepticon rose into a screech briefly, 'about their planet, about their cultures, about _them_? Did you see them as a people or as simple animate weaponry, _Colonel Lennox_?'

'Holy _shit_,' the human breathed, taking an unconscious, stumbling step backwards 'you're mad.'

'No, _they_ were mad for ever forging an alliance with such an arrogant, ignorant species!'

'I will not be engaged in emotional warfare by a robot,' Lennox said (though knowing better than almost any human that the Cybertronian capacity for sentiment placed them far beyond such a crude definition).

Starscream drew back a fist with an outraged screech, and for a moment Lennox dared hope it was the end as the hand plummeted down-

But it was held a hair's breadth from the man's face.

'Now,' the Air Commander said briskly, 'I think that means you need to be **taught** about our race. Humbly I present myself as your teacher. Any lesser intellect might fail utterly, but I promise you now you will _learn_.'

But the Decepticon had _only_ just managed to control himself, Lennox was sure. And if he could use that instability to his advantage-

He gathered his thick, unwieldy thoughts; his own experiences, titbits of Autobot dialogue- 'How does it feel,' he shouted, 'that Megatron prefers others over you?'

Starscream's hand loomed over him abruptly before two of his hard talons- brutal things, Lennox had never had the misfortune of seeing them close up before- sharply pinched themselves onto the human's ring-finger with horrifying accuracy.

He couldn't move his digit at all, but even as he was just realising this Starscream calmly twisted it until it broke with a crisp snap. The mech had barely even twitched, such was the little effort he had exerted.

The soldier gritted his teeth; he must persevere (_that was human pain, nothing too extraordinary, he could cope_): 'He's given Autobots to them- and what, you get an insect?'

'I am his second in command!' Starscream snarled, pride rising and unable to prevent himself from retaliating. 'He-'

Lennox forced out a short bark of incredulous laughter. 'And what have you got to show for it? Who does he _really_ reward?'

_Keep it simple_, the man told himself, _He'll outthink you otherwise. Keep it simple, let him fill in the gaps. They're there, just point them out-_

'Have I not seen this game a thousand times before?' Starscream exclaimed. 'Do not think for a moment that you can outwit me!'

'So he's _never_ appreciated you?' Lennox fired rapidly.

'Fool!' Starscream snapped, 'Cheek and extortion will not gain you a quicker termination.'

'You seem quick to change the subject-'

'You seem very eager to _die_.'

_No_, Lennox thought, trying to regain his finger and failing. _Not eager to die, not yet. But you will be if the Autobots ever get loose_.

* * *

><p>'What on Cybertron did you do to him?' Megatron asked with hideous intrigue, half-crouched by the table so that he was near level with Optimus.<p>

As expected, it had not taken long for the Decepticon Commander to visit Shockwave. The draining was almost complete, and whilst it bothered the lieutenant slightly that he had been disturbed, he could hardly insist his master leave the room.

'Currently this is mainly the effect of heavily leeched energon, my lord. His strength is lost.'

'He does seem rather pathetic,' the Decepticon declared. 'Still, I quite miss his smart mouth.'

Optimus summoned all of his vigour and managed a dark growl, though it was much quieter than he had hoped.

Megatron made a patronisingly sympathetic sound and stroked one of his antennae with the back of a claw. 'I am surprised this dear facemask is still up,' he commented suddenly. 'You have such a darlingly _emotive _face, Optimus, like a- what do your human friends call it?- an open _book_.'

Shockwave visibly perked up, sensing a possible objective. 'If you wish it to be so, I will focus on its removal.'

'If I wanted it 'removed', _Shockwave_, I would simply tear it off his face this moment. No,' Megatron said with a last tap to the antenna, 'let him keep it if it helps improve his courage. It makes no difference to me: I could ever know his thoughts even with it raised.'

The Autobot felt far too sluggish and heavy to move, and he could not contort his face into an appropriate expression nor pull away from the too-familiar touches. He barely recognised that there was a conversation continuing above him; the words were too fast to make much sense in his lethargic processor before more utterances tumbled in and merged together.

'Do take care of my dearest brother,' Megatron continued, seemingly oblivious to his confusion. 'I am responsible for him, you know.'

'I certainly will,' Shockwave assured. 'I am confident he will be willing to serve you before long.'

'I will ..._not_,' Prime breathed, three exhausted soft words that still captured the full attention of both silver mechs.

Shockwave seemed flummoxed he could actually speak, let alone form a sentence, but Megatron, composed and ever ready for conflict with him, simply raised an optic ridge.

'Your medic is,' he replied. 'Killed his first Autobot already. Why should you be any different?'

Those unusually dim blue optics regarded him, confused.

'_Ratchet_,' Megatron said again deliberately loudly, dragging out every syllable, '**Murdered** an _Autobot_. Do you know what one of them is, Optimus?' He snapped a claw or two directly in front of the other's face; the flamed mech blinked a good second or two later. 'This is ridiculous, Shockwave,' Megatron suddenly snapped. 'He isn't good for _anything_ like this.'

Prime's optics refocused slowly at the Decepticon's sudden proximity, the delicate and complicated mechanisms struggling to function. His optic ridges twitched minutely. _No_, he wanted to say, but nothing was working as it should and he couldn't force his vocal processors into making a sound.

His processor tiredly began to work through the information from his audio receptors, but something must be even more wrong than he had thought because the words didn't make sense. Ratchet did not kill Autobots, nor was Ratchet a Decepticon. Megatron wasn't to be trusted anyway, so nothing he said truly mattered.

Quietly resolute in the facts, he closed his optics.

That was when Sentinel Prime emerged slowly from the darkness, penetrating optics dangerously narrowed and fixed onto Megatron's. The silver mech made no acknowledgement but continued eyeing Optimus closely: it was unclear whether he had simply not noticed the movement or if he was ignoring it.

The red Cybertronian spoke suddenly as if he had been repressing himself, words laden with aghast distaste. 'He is a _Prime_.'

Megatron still did not look at him. 'This makes no difference.'

'You cannot treat him this way! It is unlawful-'

'It is revolution,' the silver Decepticon snorted, finally turning his terrible, ruined helm to behold Sentinel fully whilst slowly rising to his full imposing height. 'Laws are forfeit in war. Why do you prattle on when you know this? Shockwave- restore some function immediately.'

'Sire, your will is done,' Shockwave uttered icily.

If the clipped utterance was heard, no sign was given. Both Megatron and Sentinel were too occupied with eyeing each other before the commander unexpectedly strode out of the room to notice the lieutenant's large optic narrow, too occupied whilst the red Cybertronian followed the Decepticon with infuriated urgency to hear Optimus' quiet, mystified choke as Shockwave closed in once more.

Why would Megatron not face him? Why would he not listen? Sentinel persisted with impassioned purpose; he would be heard. If violence was the only option, it would be taken. He broke the strained silence with a growl. 'Optimus does not deserve this. Admittedly he was wrong, but doing what he thought was _right_-'

'As did we all,' Megatron snapped, abruptly turning to view him directly. 'Then you tell me what I _should_ do, hm? How can there be such favouritism when Cybertron waits in ruins for only _his_ gesture?'

'There are other means! This is barbaric-'

'Then stop me if you _dare_. The Decepticons would not follow _you_.'

'The Decepticons are a violent rabble,' Sentinel responded, and if he had any unsurety over the statement he hid it well. 'They will follow whomever grapples their way to the forefront.'

'What makes you think you have the ability to defeat me? I am no longer hidden in your shadow, though Optimus is seemingly content there.'

Sentinel was indignant, bristling. 'He is no such thing-'

'No,' Megatron said thoughtfully, 'You are right. He does not lie _in_ your shadow. Rather, he _is_ the shadow.'

'You will turn him into a shadow of himself if this unnecessary behaviour continues. Is that what you want?'

'You know perfectly well that it is not!'

'It may be the Matrix only answers to him,' Sentinel said. 'So I advise you to curb your abhorrently enthusiastic lieutenant.'

'Shockwave will provide us with a result.'

'Yes,' the Prime rumbled darkly, 'The result of a lunatic. Will he be able to wield the Matrix then?'

Megatron's claws rippled suddenly, a possible indication of patience lost. 'I am curious, Sentinel, as you do seem to know _everything_: how do you think my erstwhile brother should be dealt with?'

'Give him a truce and he will give you everything,' the red Cybertronian suggested immediately. 'Let our race live as one again.'

The Decepticon was silent for a moment. 'But I have _won_. To create a truce is to defer to him when victory is already mine, do you see?'

'You _see_ this personally, Megatron, as a conflict between you and he. It is now your hubris that stands in the way of Cybertron.'

'_No_,' he snarled. 'This is untrue.'

'I set aside my pride,' Sentinel said lowly. 'He offered me the Matrix; it could have been mine. Yet-'

'Then why did you not take it?' Megatron demanded incredulously, anger rising. 'Why this ridiculous farce when we could be restoring Cybertron this very moment?'

'I had to reject his naive, well-intentioned offer,' Sentinel said, 'for I could not have used the Matrix. It is earned, and I have not proved myself directly.'

'What does one have to do?'

'It is not _simple_,' the Prime snapped. 'It would not be easy and I doubt its allegiance will change whilst Optimus lives.'

'To kill him is not preferable,' Megatron said, 'especially if he could be the only one who can wield it.'

'We do not know this,' Sentinel said irritatedly.

'Are you willing to risk Cybertron on your assumption? That is all you speak, conjecture_. _You _think_ that the Matrix will choose another, yet at the same time you preach one must prove themselves to it! Do you think it will select someone who murders its previous holder? And _how_ will we know who it has chosen?'  
>There were far too many uncertainties to proceed, and both knew it as well as the other.<p>

'I value your experience,' Megatron said, 'but Primes are as flawed as the next mech. Do not think I will heed your every cryptic mumbling.'

'I value nothing about you but your power,' Sentinel responded. 'You would do well to remember it.'

They both stood staring, livid, knowing neither would concede.

'Then how could the Fallen use it?' Megatron demanded suddenly, clearly trying to think of more possibilities. 'If he had such ill-intentions?'

'He was one of the Thirteen,' Sentinel said. 'The others could no more keep the Matrix from him than they could prevent his rise. That seems to be a common fault in most Primes: they are unable to defeat their deadliest enemies when given opportunity.'

'Most?' Megatron questioned in spite of himself.

'Not _I_,' Sentinel replied darkly, some underlying meaning clear by his tone.

'Do not think that you can cross me.'

'I should tell you the same.'

Megatron did not have the time nor inclination to bandy words with a sanctimonious, sentimental old fool who thought himself a fair contest. 'I have a small pest to visit,' he said with all the false venomous respect he could muster. 'If you don't mind, once-master.'

'I am saddened that tormenting base creatures brings you joy,' Sentinel returned with equal malice. 'How far you have fallen.'

Their locked gaze was broken by a sudden choked cry resounding from the room they had just left: Sentinel and Megatron jolted from their temporarily narrowed worlds to glance back to where the remaining party of their once-perfect trio writhed in torment.

And at that moment it became clear to the two that both stood on perilous ground with the other; their goal had been the same, their means to achieve it had been the same- until just _then_, when something had begun to break.

(_It would be irreparable._)


End file.
